“Yes.” He smiled gently, hoping to reassure her, and gestured with his hand. “You’re beginning to make me feel unwanted.”
“Oh, please forgive me.” She blinked then quickly slid her hand into his. “Excuse me, Mr. Grant.”
Ah, so she knew him. Only one woman he had met through SiR hadn’t recognized him. He wrapped his fingers tighter around hers. Her touch was soft and delicate, and he liked the way she glanced at her hand when he dragged his fingers from hers, purposely making the touch intimate. “I’m sorry to have surprised you.” He placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the table. “But please, call me Noah.” Once she sat, he returned to his seat then said, “I’m afraid before we talk any further, we need to discuss your friend.”
Olivia slid him a look. “How do you know my friend came with me?”
“My security.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, but she recovered quickly. “I know I broke the rules and all, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be a murderer.”
His mouth twitched. Her honesty was refreshing. Most times in the political world Noah lost himself between the truth and lies. “No need to worry. I’ve never killed anyone.” He hoped that would shake her surprise and she’d laugh. She didn’t. She continued to stare at him, statue-still, so he nudged her along. “Would you please go and get your friend, so I can talk to her?”
“Ah, ya, sure.” Olivia vanished through the doorway, returning a minute later with her blond friend, whose eyes were now bulging with surprise.
He arched an eyebrow. “I take it you know who I am?” he asked her.
The blonde nodded. “Um…”—she exchanged a long look with Olivia—“yes, I do.”
He offered his hand to her and gave his gentle smile he gave to the public. “Then I am at a disadvantage because I don’t know you.”
She gave a nervous laugh and returned the handshake. “Paige Ryan, Olivia’s best friend, and wingman.”
“While it’s a pleasure to meet you, Paige,” he said in all honesty, “I’m sure you can imagine why I prefer to keep why I’m meeting Olivia private.”
Her smile widened. “Yes, I can see why you would want that.”
He nodded, glad she understood, then told it to them straight. “For Olivia and me to continue here, I need you both to understand that because of my job, I require discretion. Politics is a nasty business, and I do not take chances with my career and my public image. Because of this, it is always necessary that I have everyone in my life sign a nondisclosure.” Yes, SiR had the clients sign one. But Noah’s went even further so that sharing any part of his life with the public was a bad idea. He never enjoyed this part, but the last thing he wanted was his sex life to be discussed on CNN by people who didn’t understand the dynamics between a dom and a submissive. “Do either of you have an objection to that?”
Olivia’s gorgeous eyes scanned his face, his light brown hair, quickly glanced over his blue eyes, and lingered on his white dress shirt with tie until she regarded his forearms where he’d rolled up his sleeves, hoping to appear relaxed.
She finally shook her head and visibly swallowed deeply. “I have no objection.”
“Excellent.” He smiled.
Olivia accepted the document and the pen, and read each line before signing and dating the bottom.
He noted the shake of her hand before he addressed Paige. “And you?”
“It’s no problem at all.” She smiled then signed beneath Olivia’s name and dated the document.
Noah reached into his briefcase, took out the second nondisclosure he’d brought with him, signed and dated it, and handed the form back to Olivia. “For you.”
She laughed softly, staring at him incredulously. “You didn’t really have to do to that. I don’t care who you tell about me.”
“Fair is fair.” Done with the business end of this arrangement, he turned to Paige again. “Do I have your permission to have my security vet you? I know it’s intrusive, but it’s a necessary evil.”
Paige’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “Vet me? Well, that’s all very serious. I mean, I’ve got nothing to hide.” She hesitated then frowned. “Except for that shoplifting charge in my teens that I really don’t ever want to talk about.”
Noah began to see why Olivia brought Paige. She exuded strength while standing next to Olivia, who sat on the chair, exuding softness. “I won’t share your shoplifting charge with the public,” he told her, “if we can keep me out of the media too.”
A quick frown crossed Paige’s lips, her hands on her hips. “To mention you to the media would also mean I was mentioning Olivia, and I would never do that to her.” She gave Olivia a sweet look before addressing Noah again without any of that sweetness. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Good.” He nodded firmly.
Paige’s expression only tightened. “Take care of my girl here, Mr. Grant. I might not look like much, but I throw a wicked right hook.”
Noah smiled, respecting her loyalty. Their interactions said a lot about both these women. And he liked what he saw there.
Paige gave Olivia a quick hug. “See you at home.”
When Paige left, Olivia stared down at the table for a minute, then those gorgeous eyes rose to him, and he said, “You two seem close.”
“Incredibly. It’s just the two of us.” She smiled.
He sensed there was more to that story by the way her shoulders curved. But he was not there to chat with her about her past. Those conversations would come later. There were things he looked for—and needed—in a submissive to feel fulfilled. “Now Olivia…” He grabbed the side of her chair and pulled her closer. Her startled gasp hardened his cock to steel. “For this to work…”—he was always careful in these initial meetings not to implicate himself, saying just enough to get the information he needed—“the most important thing we need between us is chemistry.” He stared into her eyes, watching them dilate with her arousal. “It’s an incredible thing, don’t you think?” Her lips parted, and her tongue snuck out, both causing his dick to twitch. “How powerful it is that looking at someone alone can bring so much intensity.” He looked into her eyes again. “Do you agree?”
She nodded.
“May I touch you?” He needed to test her. Without chemistry, he wouldn’t go any further.
“Yes.”
Keeping his eyes on hers, he ran his finger up her arm, enjoying her shiver. He lowered his voice, drawn into her. “Chemistry is an incredible thing considering how little I know about you, and yet by touch alone, I know all I need to.”
When he dragged his finger across her bare shoulder, her eyes fluttered, a soft moan spilling from her mouth. “What do you know?” she whispered.
He captured her chin, waiting for her to open her eyes. When he snagged those dark beauties into his control, he slid his fingers across her jawline and smiled at her breathy moan. “That we’ll be just fine together.”
Usually with submissives he stopped now. Before her. He already knew when they played, they would have the connection he required as a dominant. And yet…and yet, he couldn’t help himself from leaning in and lowering his face to her neck, inhaling deeply.
She smelled fresh and sweet. She didn’t drown herself in perfume, allowing him to enjoy her natural fragrance. And he liked it.
Testing her further, he brushed his lips against her neck and her pulse hammered beneath his mouth. She stayed still, her ragged breaths sounding rough by his ear. “Tell me what you’re feeling right now,” he ordered, sliding his mouth upward.
She moaned.
He nipped her ear. “I require you to answer me when I ask a question. Tell me you understand?”
“Yes, I understand,” she rasped.
He nipped her earlobe again, smiling at her hard shudder. “The correct re
sponse is: Yes, sir.”
“Yes, sir.” She gasped.
He hesitated then planted his mouth by her ear. “I’m waiting for your answer.” He would not repeat himself.
She paused now. He had no doubt if he looked at her face, he would find her eyes closed, her mouth parted, desperate for him to make his move. Instead, he waited for her response.
It came a second later.
“I want you to kiss me.”
“Is that so?” He smiled against her neck then leaned away and captured her chin. His cock throbbed when he found her expression exactly as he had pictured it. But when she opened her eyes, laying him with the emotion in their depths, she blindsided him.
His lips met hers that instant. There was no thought anymore. There was only what she needed of him and his inability to refuse her. He lightly kissed her, opening and closing his mouth with hers, testing the way she wanted his affection. He had a moment of clarity when he realized he should back away, but then she moaned into his mouth, and he slid his hand to her nape, angling her head and deepening the kiss. Her tongue swirled with his, and she melted beneath his mouth, her eager moan spilling out across him. She made him ache, and when he felt himself yearn to reach for her arms to pull her across the table and onto his lap, he forced himself to break away.
He pressed his forehead against hers and cupped her cheek until the twitch of his muscles indicating his need to lay her out on this table and make her come against his mouth faded. Only then did he lean away and stare into eyes that captivated him. The hunger for this woman was a rare thing. “One week, Olivia. That’s what we’ve got.” It’s the only arrangement he would make, not for himself but for his submissives. The time was short enough to ensure no emotional attachments. The last thing he needed was a scorned submissive stalking him. “Is that agreeable to you?”
She leaned into his touch, breathless. Her lips were parted, all but begging him to return his mouth to hers and kiss the hell out of her until they were both screaming their pleasure. “Yes, sir.”
Lost in those eyes, he knew two things for certain. Either someone was setting him up with the perfect temptation. Or this woman was goddamn made for him.
Chapter 2
“Noah fucking Grant,” Paige gasped the very moment Olivia walked through the apartment door after work.
Olivia laughed, a purse in one hand, a file folder in the other. Paige had never looked so green with envy sitting on her beige cotton couch. Stone walls and worn light oak hardwood floors gave the space a rustic feel. A tall black bookshelf separated the room, with a double bed on one side and the couch and glass table with gold edging on the other. The television was turned on to an episode of Bones that Olivia knew for a fact Paige had already watched a dozen times.
With her body still humming from her encounter with Noah, she shut the door behind her. “Right? I was not expecting a senator.” She kicked off her high heels, and her feet screamed a big fat hallelujah. “I figured it’d be some businessman or something…not him.”
Paige jumped to her feet, hands cupped to her chest. “Please tell me he’s as charming as I think he is.”
Being young and handsome, Noah was loved by the local media and the public. Now Olivia knew why. “He’s charming, and then some.” Olivia moved closer, tossing her purse onto the chair she passed. “I can honestly say that I’ve never met anyone like him.”
“In a good way?” Paige asked.
Olivia grinned. “In a great way.”
Paige slowly began to smile. “This is a cause for celebration.” She hurried into the kitchen and took out two wineglasses before grabbing a bottle from the fridge.
Olivia moved to the couch, taking a seat against the soft cushion, tucking a small pillow under her arm. A day ago, she knew only that Noah Grant was a politician. And she knew that only because Paige was hardcore into politics. She loved the drama of it all. She always called it “a grown-up’s version of high school.” Olivia voted based on the party, not on what was said during the campaign. And she had, in fact, voted for Noah a few years ago.
When Paige turned around holding two very full glasses of white wine, she asked, “What’s that?”
Olivia glanced down, reminded of the file folder on her lap. “Instructions.”
Paige offered a wineglass, scrunching her nose. “Instructions for what?”
Olivia accepted the drink, handing over the file. “Have a look for yourself. Believe me when I tell you that I almost died when we talked about its contents.” She took a long sip of her wine as Paige settled in next to her and opened the file folder. “The first bit there is simple stuff all from SiR. Just a reminder that I have to go to the doctor and get tested for STIs and HIV this week, as per SiR’s rules.”
Paige flipped through to the next piece of paper then glanced up with wide eyes. “Terms of Agreement?”
Olivia snickered at the surprise on Paige’s face. “Yup, I probably looked like that when I first saw it too. It details that I’m to arrive at Noah’s penthouse a week from today, and our”—she made quotation marks with her fingers—“playtime is to last a week.”
“So serious,” said Paige, examining the papers.
It was. All very serious.
Olivia sipped her wine again, tasting the oaky hint before she said, “It’s weird for sure. Sex for me has always been so personal. If I hadn’t met Noah, and felt the heat from him, I’d say he had to be one of the coldest people I’d ever met. Can you imagine having to be this cautious all the time being your life?”
“No,” Paige said without hesitation, her attention glued to the papers in her hands. “But he does have to protect himself. You know, if rules are in place, then nothing can ever go wrong.”
“I think that’s probably true,” Olivia surmised. “Sad existence, don’t you think?”
Paige turned on the couch, facing Olivia and crossing her legs. “Totally sad…and yeah, also kinda weird. But on the bright side, it makes for a great arrangement for you to live out some of your hottest fantasies in a very controlled, safe manner.”
“There is that.” Olivia agreed.
Paige took a sip of her wine then returned her glass to the coffee table. “So, the whole time you were just talking and planning?”
“I wouldn’t say we were talking,” Olivia explained, remembering all the heat Noah exuded. Hell, her nipples hardened again. “I think he just wanted everything to be super clear. But then he did this thing…”
Paige leaned forward, drool practically falling from her mouth. “What thing?”
“He grabbed my chair, yanked me closer to him, then touched my arm.”
A slow laugh spilled from Paige’s mouth and she rolled her eyes. “I’m waiting for something big here…First, if some guy yanked my chair closer to him, I’d probably knock out his teeth. And second, he touched your arm? Oooh…did your panties combust right then and there?”
Olivia laughed. “I know how that all sounds, but Paige…I honestly have never been so turned on in my life. He’s like gentle but firm and it’s incredible.”
“So there’s chemistry?” Paige asked.
“Definite chemistry.”
Paige examined the papers in front of her then got to the final page. “I’m about to die of envy,” she quipped. The couch bounced beneath her as she studied the list, a gleam in her eyes.
“What?” Olivia asked.
Paige slowly lifted the piece of paper in her hand. “It’s like a smorgasbord of hot sex.” She reached for a pen in the bowl on the coffee table that had been meant for decoration but ended up being used as a junk spot. “Ready to order?” She grinned.
Olivia hadn’t decided when she’d go through her checklist detailing her hard limits, letting Noah know beforehand what she would allow and what she wouldn’t. But she supposed having Paige there to help decide was just as
good a time as any. She nodded. “Ready.”
Paige didn’t even blink. “Anal?”
“Seriously, Paige, you start with that one.” Oliva dropped her head into her hands, feeling the heat blushing against her cheeks. “I shouldn’t have showed this to you.”
“Oh please,” Paige countered with a loud laugh. “This is the highlight of my year.” She glanced over the list quickly. “Besides, I’ve done most of these things on this list so there’s no need to feel embarrassed.” She placed the tip of the pen on the paper again, looking all very serious. “Yes or no to anal?”
“Is there a maybe in there?” Olivia leaned forward, trying to examine the document. “Like are we talking a finger, or…you know, his thing?”
Paige gave a measured look. “Dude. Do you know nothing about how this whole power exchange thing works? It’s either a yes or a no answer. A hard limit is things you hate and would never do. Do you hate anal?”
“I haven’t done it, so I wouldn’t know,” Olivia admitted before taking a good long sip of her wine.
When she lowered her glass, Paige gawked at her. “Ever?”
“Never.”
Paige slowly shook her head, glancing back down at the page. “It’s a damn good thing that you signed up for this app. There is a whole world of freaky shit out there for you to try.”
Olivia took another sip of her wine. This was exactly what she had realized too. She’d been too sheltered, too good. Sure, she had wanted to have kinky sex like she knew Paige had. The kind of sex that was exciting and thrilling, but that she had always been too afraid to pursue. And Cameron never seemed to care about experimenting. Sex was very much a release for him, and usually all about his release, not hers.
She didn’t want to be the “good girl” anymore. She didn’t want to be the nice one, the smart one, the amazing daughter. She wanted to be the naughty girl. “Yes to anal,” she blurted out.
Paige grinned and nodded. “Yes to anal.” She read the next line. “Gags?”
“Yes.”
“Blindfolds?”
Perfectly Inappropriate Page 2
